187 



.American Oceans Campaign ' Oilifomia Diving .Vcws • Center for Marine Conservation • Chesapeake Bay Foundation 

 'Coalition for Buzzards Bay ' Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana • Coast Alliance ' Conservation Law Foundation 



• Dive Boat Calendar and Travel Guide * Dive 'n Surf • Diving Equipmeiu Manufacturers Association • Divers 

 Involved Voluntarily in Environmental Rehabilitation and Safety • Eastern Surfing .Association • Environmental n'orking 

 Group • Florida Scuba News ' Friends of Casco Bay • Galveston Bay Fourulation • Long Island Sound Task Force ' 

 Long Island Soundkeeper Fund • Manasota 88 • Friends of the Earth 'Southern Environmental Law Center • Delaware 

 Riverkeeper Network • Heal the Bay • Inner Frontier • Natural Resources Defense Council • National .Association of 

 Underwater Instructors • North Carolina Coastal Federation • Nortliwest Environmental .Advocates • Ocean Futures • 

 Patagonia, Inc. • People for Paget Sound • River Network • Save our Sliores ' Save San Francisco Bay .Association • 

 Save the Bay • Save the HarborSave the Bay • Save Wetlands and Bays • Sierra Club • Sport Clialet • Surfrider 

 Foundation, National Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, Humbolt, California Cluipter • Surfrider Foundation, .Monterey, 

 California Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, San Francisco, California Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, Santa Cruz, 

 California Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, Laguna Beach, California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Long Beach, 

 California Oiapter • Surfrider Foundation, Newport Beach, California Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, Malibu. 

 California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, San Diego, California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Santa Monica, 

 California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Santa Barbara, California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Ventura, 

 California Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Haleiwa, Hawaii Chapter • Surfrider Foundation, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 

 Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Tinton Fails, .y'ew jersey Chapter • Surfrider Fourmation, St. James. New i'ork Cliapter 



• Surfrider Foundation, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Miami, Florida Cliapter • 

 Surfrider Foundation, Virginia Beach, Virginia Cluipter • Surfrider Foundation, League City, Texas Cliapter ' Surfrider 

 Foundation, Lake Jackson, Texas Cliapter • Surfrider Foundation, Newport, Rhode Island Chapter • US Public Interest 

 Group ' Washington Scuba Alliance • Women's Scuba .Association • 



July 13, 1993 



Dear Representative, 



The undersigned organizations urge vou to co-sponsor and support H.R. 31. the Beaches 

 Environmental Assessment. Closure, and Health Act of 1993. The focus of the B.E.A.C.H bill 

 is to ensure that states have adequate beach testing programs, to protect citizens from health 

 risks, while allowing states flexibility in determining beach closures or in implementing stricter 

 standards. 



Current data indicate that the problem of sewage contamination and polluted runoff of 

 our coastal waters, and its associated health risks, are persistent. There have been thousands of 

 ocean and bay beach closings or advisories issued during in the past few years, due to elevated 

 bacteria levels attributable primarily to human and animal waste. Cleaning up existing sources 

 of pollution, including polluted runoff, is clearly the best and the most important remedy to the 

 problem of beach water contamination. In the interim, however, consistent programs to 

 adequately protect beachgoer health must be set in place. 



Recent surveys of federal and state practices have shown that: 



• current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended standards allow 19 out 

 of every 1000 swimmers to contract OInesses such as gastroenteritis and even hepatitis; 



• States use different standards- of varying efficacy to judge the safety of coastal 

 recreational waters; 



• many states do littie or no monitoring of their beach water despite evidence of local 

 coastal pollution problems as well as heavy beach attendance; and 



• government agencies often fail to provide the public with timely notification of 



